


What Lies Down the Road Well-Traveled

by Pineprin137



Series: Mated [26]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Accidents, Adorable, Alpha Jared Padalecki, Alpha/Omega, Anxiety, Exhaustion, Family Fluff, Headaches & Migraines, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Morning Sickness, Not you though Jared, Oh the joys of potty training, Omega Jensen Ackles, Road Trips, Sick Character, Sick Jensen, Stomach Ache, Taking a family snooze, They think it's one, Wetting, You're driving, but we know better
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:00:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24120976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pineprin137/pseuds/Pineprin137
Summary: There are a few bumps along the way on the family's first road trip.
Relationships: Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki
Series: Mated [26]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1509452
Comments: 7
Kudos: 78





	What Lies Down the Road Well-Traveled

_ “There was a farmer who had a dog and Bingo was his name-o--” _ Jensen sings digging through the bag at his feet to find Danny’s snack. 

Emily smiles big and fills in the next line, _ “B-I-NGO, B-I-NGO, B-I-NGO, and Bingo was his name-o!”  _

Jared glances at her in the rearview mirror. “Good job, Em.” 

Jensen smirks at his mate then shouts, “Aha!” as he holds a bag of cheese crackers up in triumph. 

In the back seat, their two-year-old son voices his impatience and makes grabby hands in Jensen’s direction. 

“Okay, buddy. I know. Just a sec, okay?” 

Danny whines. Jensen huffs as he struggles to open the baggie. Finally admitting defeat, he tosses it in his mate’s lap. “Would you please open that?” 

The alpha chuckles and removes one hand from the steering wheel so he can use his teeth to pull the zippered bag open. “Here you go,” he says, handing the now-open bag to Jensen. 

He then turns around to look at their son. “Hang on, buddy, Daddy’s trying.” 

“ _ Gee, thanks _ ,” Jensen huffs, dumping out a small handful and placing it in the little bowl in his lap. “Okay, here we go. Be careful, okay? Don’t spill it.” 

Danny happily accepts his favorite snack and immediately tries to shove a handful in his mouth. 

“Ah-ah, no. Not that much at once. Okay, buddy? We don’t want you to choke,” Jensen says softly while reaching back to stick two of his fingers in his son’s mouth to scoop out the excess crackers. 

After he is re-situated in his seat, Emily pipes up. “Papa?”

Jared meets her eyes in the mirror. “Yeah, Em?” 

The little girl squirms in her seat, biting her lip. “I have to go potty.” 

Jensen looks over at Jared and they exchange a worried look. Their daughter isn’t the best at knowing when she actually has to go so it could be a false alarm. But then again, it could just as easily mean she’s going to wet herself in the next few minutes. 

Jensen turns in his seat so he can meet her eyes. “Can you hold on, baby? Papa’s going to pull in at the next rest stop, but we have a little ways to go.” 

She gives a small nod. He smiles at her. “That’s my girl.” 

Eleven minutes later, Jared pulls the van into the parking lot of the rest area. He quickly turns the ignition off then gets out with his mate and walks to the trunk. The faint sound of little-girl sniffles gets louder when they open it.

Jensen opens the little pink backpack to pull out a change of clothes for Emily. “I’ll take her in to get her cleaned up then come back for Danny?” 

Jared stretches his arms and rolls his neck before answering. “Alright, I’ll see what I can do about the car seat. If worse comes to worst, I’ll just layer a few of the towels on her seat and then we can deep clean it at Mom and Dad’s.” 

“Hm,” his mate replies, resting his forehead on Jared’s shoulder. 

The alpha sighs, “The books say that it takes time, you know? She’ll get it eventually.” 

Jensen snorts, “Yeah, then we get to do it all over again with Danny.” 

“Hang in there, babe,” Jared whispers, kissing his temple. 

The omega walks over to the sliding door, leaning in to unbuckle Emily. She sniffles and turns her head so she doesn’t have to look at him. The feeling of shame coming from her makes him want to cry.

Instead, he softly smiles at her. “C’ mere, sweet girl. Daddy’s gonna get you all cleaned up, okay?” He says to her as he lifts her out of the wet car seat. Embarrassed, she buries her face in his neck. 

The tears don’t stop until after her wet clothes are removed. Only then does she smile when Jensen makes a funny face. It takes blowing a raspberry on her exposed tummy to get her to giggle. But by the time she and Jensen walk out of the bathroom, Emily has the bounce back in her step. 

Jared crouches down in front of her when they approach the car. “All better?” he asks. She nods.

Although the plan was for Jared to wait with Em while Jensen took Danny to get changed, they end up switching so Jared can take a bathroom break as well.

Ever the budding artist, Emily begs the omega to let her use her sidewalk chalk so she doodles while he leans against the car. He can’t seem to stop yawning even though he and Jared turned in early in preparation for the trip. By the time Jared and Danny return, he’s practically asleep. 

“Babe? You okay?” Jared asks after they get the kids back in the car. 

Jensen yawns. “Yeah… just tired, I guess. Might take a nap.” 

“Now would be the time. Looks like the kiddos are about to crash too.” 

Twisting in his seat, Jensen smiles at the scene in the backseat. Probably tired out after getting upset, Emily’s cheek is resting against the edge of the seat, her bunny tucked safely beneath her chin. Danny seems to be fighting it though. Every time his chin droops further onto his chest, he jerks up. But his eyes are barely open and it’s obvious he won’t be able to last much longer.

Deciding to listen to his husband’s suggestion, Jensen leans back in his seat with his arms crossed over his chest.

When Jared pulls into a small park at lunchtime, all three of his passengers are sound asleep. Taking a few pictures on his phone, he unloads the cooler and sets up the picnic table while they rest. 

He wakes up Emily first. 

“Em…,” he says, leaning down to kiss her forehead, “C’mon, pretty girl, time to wake up…” 

With a big yawn, she blinks up at him. “Are we there?” 

“Not yet, baby.” He reaches in to undo her buckles and lift her out. “It’s time for lunch.” He places her on the ground then crawls in so he can get Danny. 

“C’mon, buddy. I know you’re ready to eat,” he chuckles. With Danny in his arms, Jared opens up the front passenger door to shake Jensen’s shoulder. “Babe, wake up. I’ve got lunch set up.”

“M’kay… I’ll be there in a minute,” comes the sleepy reply. 

Jared walks the kids over to the table so they can start eating while Jensen wakes up. The omega joins them a few minutes later, yawning and blinking in the sunlight as he shoves a hand through his hair. Instead of making his own plate, he shares a bag of chips with Daniel then finishes off his sandwich when the little boy declares he’s full. 

As they’re packing the cooler back up and gathering the rest of the supplies, Jared asks him, “You feeling okay, babe? You didn’t eat much…” 

The omega shrugs, “I’ll be alright.” Closing his eyes, he rubs at the spot between his eyebrows. 

Jared frowns. “Headache?” 

“Yeah,” Jensen admits, “I’ve had it since this morning. Won’t seem to go away.” 

The alpha walks around the table to place his hands on Jensen’s shoulders. After telling him to lean forward, he massages the tense muscles. “You take anything?” 

Jensen nods. “Back before we left. It’s probably worn off by now.” 

He isn’t sure whether his mate’s ailment is a product of anxiety or just a run of the mill headache, but either way, Jared decides a break might be a good idea. 

“I saw a playground nearby,” he starts, “how about we let the kiddos play for a little while?” Before Jensen can protest, he adds, “I could use a short break to stretch my legs.” 

After thinking it over, Jensen agrees. “Yeah, that--that sounds nice. I’ll go let them know.” 

They end up staying for an hour, Emily and Danny taking turns on the slide and swinging while Jensen dozes against Jared’s shoulder on a nearby bench. They’re just about to leave when Jensen says, “Do we have any plastic bags in the car?” 

The odd tone in his voice has Jared turning to look at him. He watches the color drain from the omega’s face as a hand comes to rest on his stomach. “Uh, yeah--yeah, I’m pretty sure. You need help?” 

Standing, Jensen shakes his head. “..stay with them.”

By the time he gets the car door open, Jensen is fighting the need to be sick. He frantically opens the glove box to pull out their stash of grocery bags then bends over so the kids can’t see him when he throws up. 

Tying the bag off after he’s finished, the omega finally allows himself to acknowledge what he’s suspected for the last week. Headaches, excessive tiredness, nausea… he’s pregnant again. 

Jared motions for the kids to wait near the sidewalk as he walks over to the car to check on Jensen. He spots the bag on the floor and frowns. “Think it was something you ate?” 

Jensen snorts. “More like something we did…” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Jare, when was the last time you scented me?” 

The alpha frowns in thought. Because the house is filled with a mixture of four different scents, it’s hard to pick out Jensen’s unless he’s actually standing in front of him, like now. He always makes sure to mark his mate whenever they make love, but it’s been a little while. Jared’s been busy with work and the kids take up most of their time. 

“Um… maybe a month? Things have been a little chaotic…” 

“Oh, don’t I know it.” Jensen looks up at him then tilts his head to the side to expose his neck. Jared peeks around the door to check on the kids then crowds into his husband’s space. Resting his nose against his omega’s throat, he inhales deeply. 

His eyes widen and he leans back when something catches his attention. “Are you…?” 

“Mhmm.” 

Jared’s face breaks into a wide grin. “Oh, babe, that’s wonderful! Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” 

“I assumed you knew. I mean, I’ve been napping with the kids almost every day, I threw up the other morning, I can’t stand the smell of lunchmeat…” 

Guilt washes over the alpha when he realizes all the signs he missed. How could he not know his mate was pregnant? Jensen is right, though. Now that he thinks about it, he remembers they went out to eat instead of having pot roast like they normally do and Jensen  _ had _ been sleeping a lot more than he usually did. 

“I can’t believe I didn’t smell it on you…” 

Sure, when the kids are around the scents get mixed up in Jared’s nose, but when they lay in bed at night, it’s just the two of them. 

“Hey, it’s alright. The doctor told me last time that it isn’t as potent the second time around so I’m guessing the same goes for number three,” Jensen says, kissing him on the cheek before he walks over to collect the kids. They’re laying on the ground, Emily pointing out different clouds to her brother. 

“Ready to get back on the road?” Jensen asks her, holding out his hands. 

“Do we have to…?” she whines.

“If we want to make it to Grandma and Grandpa’s-- yes,” Jensen replies, pulling her up then doing the same with his son. “How ‘bout you, buddy? You ready to see Grandma and Grandpa?” 

Danny nods excitedly. Jared joins them and picks him up then carries him over to the car so he can buckle him into his car seat. Jensen supervises while Emily fastens her own then climbs into the passenger seat after throwing the makeshift barf bag away. 

“Alright, gang!” Jared calls out as he starts the car back up and pulls out of the lot “Here we go!"

_ “There was a farmer who had a dog and Bingo was his name-o…”  _


End file.
